Adenovirus Vectors for Human Somatic Gene Therapy
Adenovirus is a family of viruses that infects various parts of the human body. Symptoms of infection range from mild common cold-like symptoms (sore throat, runny nose, coughing, chills) to bronchitis, pneumonia or pink eye. Young children and people with weakened immune systems are more likely to develop severe adenovirus infections. Adenovirus can spread by close contact (shaken hands, kissing, hugging), through respiratory droplets released in sneezes and coughs, and by touching surfaces or objects with the virus on them and then touching your eyes, mouth or nose before washing your hands. Occasionally, intestinal adenovirus can cause a serious medical emergency called intussusception, in which one part of the intestine slides over another section like a telescope and causes abdominal pain, vomiting and diarrhea. A slender, rod-shaped virus with a diameter of 70 to 100 nm, adenovirus consists of 252 capssomeres forming the icosahedral structure, each bearing two major core proteins and a short fiber that extends from the center of the capsid. Adenoviruses replicate in cells by dividing their genomes twice and then inserting the new DNA into the cell nucleus. The resulting DNA fragments are then packaged into capssomeres for further replication and release. Adenoviruses have also been used as vector systems in approaches…
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